Reality Shock
by Shin-Ashura
Summary: After being pulled into a videogame, I embark on a quest to discover my true purpose. R&R please! Part 1 of ?
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfiction and it's the first of what I hope to be a long and entertaining series

Note: this is a self-insertion fanfic, meaning that I (the author) will be the main character.

Disclaimer – I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, or anything else that's Sonic related. I only own myself and the stuff that isn't a trademark or is copyrighted.

**Reality Shock Chapter 1**

"Finally! School's done for the week," I say to myself on the walk home. Immediately after getting in the house I head to the TV, turn it on, pop Sonic Adventure 2: Battle into my Gamecube, power it up, and head into the kitchen to get a snack while it starts up. Unknown to me, there are some really strange things happening on the screen.

A few minutes later, I come back into the living room with a plate of pizza rolls and a coke, grab my controller, and sit down on the couch, ready to start playing. But instead of the title screen, all I see on the TV is the Gamecube logo spinning around and around.

"Damn it! The cpu must have messed up!" I get up and hit the reset button. Nothing happens. Same thing with the power button. "Strange." I finally got fed up with the spinning logo and pulled out the plug. The only thing that happened was that the logo started spinning faster and faster and the system made a high-pitched screeching sound.

"Okay, this is starting to freak me out." As soon as I said this, the noise got even louder and the TV screen started to emit a blinding light, causing me to lose consciousness. The last thing I saw was the SA2:B title screen pop up and then everything went white.

**A/N: Well, that was my first ever fanfic. Next chaptershould be longer. Reviews are very welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, or anything else that' Sonic related. I only own myself and the stuff that isn't a trademark or is copyrighted.

**Reality Shock Chapter 2**

"Did anybody get the license of the old granny on a Segway that ran me over?" I groggily asked aloud to no one in particular.

The second thing I noticed upon regaining consciousness (the first thing being that I had a major headache) was that I was no longer in my living room. In fact, I wasn't even in the same town.

_Where am I?_ I thought to my self as I explored my new surroundings. The entire city was built on a steep hill with cars lining the streets and looking suspiciously like San Francisco.

"You know," I said to myself, "if I didn't know better, I'd think I was in Son..." I didn't get to finish my sentence as WHAM a blue blur rammed into me at 30+ miles per hour sending me head over heels to land face-first on the cement some 20 feet away.

"Hey, are you alright?" came an oddly familiar voice. "Yeah, my face has always looked like I've been smacked with a frying pan a few too many times." I replied sarcastically, glancing up at the figure currently holding out a hand to help me up.

All I could do was stare. The person standing in front of me was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. _THE_ Sonic the Hedgehog. As in the _fictional _Sonic the Hedgehog. As in _non-existent_.

Sonic, who was starting to get a bit nervous from my staring, asked me "What, you never seen another hedgehog before?"

Snapping out of it, I reply; "No, it's not that, it's just that..." _Huh?_ "Wait, what do you mean _another_ hedgehog?" Instead of answering, Sonic casually pointed towards a nearby shop window. Needless to say, what I saw there surprised me. I was expecting one human and one hedgehog; instead there were two hedgehogs, one green and one blue. The blue hedgehog was obviously Sonic, but I had no idea who the green one was. It took me a moment, but I was able to come to the conclusion that the hedgehog in the window was me!

Before I could say or do anything about this stunning revelation, the sound of a lot of police sirens reached my ears, as well as the same sound that my Gamecube had made before I had fainted.

The instant that I recognized the sound, I had already started to fall unconscious.

"Not again..." I managed to mutter just before I blacked out.

A/N: There you have it. Chapter 2 of my fanfic. The mysterious noise and why I lose consciousness when I hear it will be revealed in later chapters.

Until next chapter!


	3. Intermission

**Reality Shock**

**Intermission**

_"Hey, Ash?"_

_"What is it, Tetsu?"_

_"Do you think we'll ever be able to go home again?" asked Tetsu. "sigh I don't know Tetsu," replied Ash," but I do know that the echidnas have volunteered to let us stay with them until this all blows over."_

_"That's a relief. So, what are you working on now?"_

_"I'm trying to miniaturize the technology that the echidnas use on their flying platforms and implement it in a more convenient form." Upon seeing Tetsu's clueless expression, Ash sighs and gives him the simplified explanation. "Basically, I'm making a pair of shoes that fly using the same stuff that the platforms do. All I need is a power source."_

_"What about some of those?" Tetsu asked, pointing at something on the wall behind Ash._

_Looking at what Tetsu was pointing at, Ash replied "You know, that might just work! I heard our guide say that those crystals pull in nearby energy and release it in other forms, such as light or electricity. I'm sure the echidnas won't mind if we borrow a few."_

_Prying several of the crystals out of the wall, Ash inserted a couple into the shoes, and put the rest of them into his bracelets, which were actually hollow to hold his tools and some small supplies. that taken care of, Ash then touched a small panel on the side of one of the shoes, face beaming at the sight of the bright yellow-orange glow coming from the bottom of it._

_"It works!"_

_"Cool! Why don't you try them out?" Tetsu asked, but Ash already had the shoes on and was skating around the room._

_Suddenly, there was a heavy knock at the door. "Dinner is ready sir."_

_"Alright, we'll be there in a minute. Tell the others they can go ahead and start eating without us."_

_"'as you wish, Lord Ash---."_

**A/N: Introducing my OC's Tetsu and Ash. I'm not saying what they are or what they look like for a reason. As to what that reason is, I'm not telling you... yet. This chapter was originally just going to be the opening for a chapter, but it ended up becoming a chapter of its own.**

**in response to another person's comment about changing my summary I can't because it would reveal too much of the plot, and anything I could come up with that wouldn't reveal anything just plain sucks (Storm: S, S, S, SUCKS! Me: Yes. S-U-C-K sucks.) Sorry, I've been playing Sonic Riders and I couldn't resist. (Well, I could've, but I didn't feel like it)**

**Review please! Until next chapter. Later!**


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog and all associated characters are registered trademarks of SEGA. I only own myself, Ashura and any OC's unless otherwise stated.

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 3**

"Ow, my head."

"Heh, 'bout time ya woke up."

_Sonic?_ "What happened?"

"You passed out and then some G.U.N. robots popped up out of nowhere, captured us, and dumped us in this cell. By the way, we never properly introduced ourselves. I'm Sonic"

"Name's Ashura." _Where did that come from? That's not my name!_

I was going to say something, when Sonic shrugged and said "Ashura, huh? That's an interesting name. I like your shoes though."

_My shoes?_ I thought, as I looked down at them. They were mostly white with red soles, looking a lot like Shadow's, but older and more used. Suddenly, I remembered the dream that I'd had while unconscious. _Or was it a dream? It felt so real, like it was really happening._

Then I realized something. The pair of shoes that I was currently wearing were almost exactly like the ones Ash was working in my dream!

"I wonder..." I mutter to myself as I examine the shoes, looking to see if there was a panel like in the dream. All I found was a small bump on the side.

"_Neural receptors activated._"

_Huh?_

_"Beginning systems check."_

_What the?_

_"Systems check complete. Beginning system calibration."_

_Why can't I move?_

_"Calibration complete."_

_What's happening?_

_"System restart completed. Resuming normal operation."_

"Hello, Earth to Ashura."

I blinked. "Sonic? What happened?"

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. You just kinda zoned out for a minute there."

Walking over to the cell door, I said, "Whatever. Now let's get out of here."

"How?"

"Like this."

I held my right hand, palm facing out, towards the card reader on the cell's locking device.

For a few moments nothing happened, but then the ring at the end of my glove started glowing.

I focused hard, channeling the energy from the ring to my palm, forming it into a shiny golden orb approximately the size of a baseball. I then released it towards the lock.

The ball shot to the lock, being absorbed by it. The card reader started sparking before finally exploding, opening the cell in the process.

"Whoa! How'd you do that!" Sonic asked, amazed.

"No idea, but let's not stick around to figure it out. There's no way that nobody noticed that explosion."

"Good idea. Let's go!"

**A/N: There you go! Chapter 3 (4) of Reality Shock. Sorry for making you wait, I just haven't been in a writing mood lately.**

**I've already got several different plotlines in mind; we'll just have to see how it turns out because I'm more or less making this up as I go.**

**The original version of this chapter had Amy let us out after a short conversation, but I couldn't seem to end it the right way.**

**Well, I think I've said enough here, so I'll leave it at that.**

**Until next time, Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 3**

(Note: this picks up directly from chapter 3)

"Hurry up!"

"I'm sorry that I can't run at supersonic speeds like you can, Sonic." I replied sarcastically.

We had just gotten out of our cell, when the alarm went off and summoned a ton of guard robots.

We had managed to escape, but several G.U.N. beetles managed to catch up with us.

"Hey Ashura, why don't you what you did back at the cell?" Sonic yelled over the din of the beetles' engines.

"I've been trying! I think it needs to recharge or something!" I shouted back to Sonic.

I then noticed something.

"Sonic! Stop! This hallway's a..." WHAM "...Dead end."

Sonic had run right into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent in the titanium, and knocking himself out in the process.

I probably would've laughed myself silly if the situation wasn't so serious.

As it was, I was all alone against at least two dozen heavily armed mechs, with no means to defend myself. In short, I was screwed.

This is it. I thought as I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

It never came.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"What the!"

Everything was frozen. There were bullets hanging in mid-air, nothing holding them up.

"This can't be... Chaos Control?"

As soon as I moved out of the bullets' paths, time started up again.

Acting purely on instinct, I jumped in the air, curled into a ball, and smashed into the nearest robot.

I repeated the action, destroying robot after robot until there was nothing in the hall except me, Sonic, and a LOT of scrap metal.

Breathing heavily, I said to myself, "Whew... That's a lot harder than it seems in the games."

"Games?"

Before I could give Sonic an excuse, there was a loud, high-pitched, cry of "SONIC!" quickly followed by a bright pink female hedgehog.

"AMY!"

_Nice timing_.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

I blinked. _Did I just say that out loud_?

"Yes, you did. So what exactly did you mean by 'nice timing'?"

_Whoops. Quick, think of an excuse!_

Sweatdropping, I turned to Amy, for it was her that had asked the question.

"I was being sarcastic. What I was referring to was that you were late. You arrived when I had already finished off all the guard robots."

"Oh. So what happened to Sonic?"

Looking over towards Sonic, I saw he was rubbing a fairly large bruise on the side of his face.

"Oh, that. He ran into a wall."

Both Sonic and Amy sweatdropped.

"If you don't believe me, you can take a look for yourselves." I said, pointing at the hedgehog shaped depression in the wall behind them.

Turning around, they both sweatdropped again. I couldn't help but laugh a little at their expressions.

It was then that I noticed something glowing in the remains of one of the destroyed robots.

"Hmm? What's that?" I asked as I approached the object in question, being careful to avoid the superheated metal surrounding it.

The object turned out to be a pair of rings like the ones I was wearing, except mine were silver, and these were gold with a few veins of an unknown gem-like substance running through it.

These must be an upgrade! I wonder what they do? As soon as I finished this thought, I heard a ghostly voice in the back of my mind. (A/N: Think a male version of Tikal's voice.)

_"These are the Ancient Bangles. They harness the powers of Chaos to move certain objects at the users will."_

"Cool."_ I said as the Bangles appeared on my wrists, replacing the rings I had been wearing._

But the Voice wasn't finished.

_"Now! Prepare to prove thyself as_ _the true owner of this item!"_

"Wha!" I shouted as a bright light enveloped my body, sending me to parts unknown.

**Wow, that sure came out of nowhere. I actually hadn't planned that ending. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing.**

**Review please. I now accept anonymous reviews, so that's no excuse.**

**See Ya!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 5**

When the light finally faded, I saw that I was in front of a giant stone pyramid surrounded by ruins.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the Mystic Ruins. You are to be tested here."

I spun around, locating the source of the voice.

"and what is my test?" I asked the elderly echidna.

"You are to fight me, young one."

"And if I refuse?"

"You will perish."

"Then you leave me no choice."

"Good. Now, defend yourself!"

He then charged at me, suprisingly fast for his age.

"Woah!" I was barely able dodge his punch, the spikes on his knuckles just parting the fur on my shoulder.

He followed up with a powerful roundhouse kick that caught me in the stomach.

"Oof!"

"You are weak. You do not deserve to use the Ancient Bangles." the echidna taunted.

My response to this was a strong right uppercut to his jaw that sent him flying back a few feet.

I dashed at him, reaching him just before he hit the ground and hit him with a flurry of punches, followed by a tremor-inducing haymaker that knocked him into one of the ruined buildings surrounding the area, shattering it like glass.

Surveying the damage, I couldn't help but be amazed at my strength. The entire building had been reduced to pebbles by that single blow!

I sweatdropped. "I think I overdid it."

"No. If you hadn't done what you had, my next attack would have killed you. I acknoledge your strength and skill. You have proven yourself worthy of wielding the Bangles."

"Cool. So, how do you use these things?"

"I will show you. Close your eyes and empty your mind. Can you feel the power of Chaos around you?"

"Yes. It's amazing! I can't even begin to describe it!"

"Good. Focus on that feeling. Remember it. You can use almost anything that resonates with this power."

"Alright!"

"That is all I can teach you. Now, kill me!"

I was stunned.

"What! Why?"

"I have been defeated in battle. I have no right to live."

I shook my head. "You're wrong. Everyone has the right to live. You, me, Sonic, and even Eggman."

"Hmph. Such wise words for one so young. But, I suppose you're right."

I nodded.

"But what am I to do now? Guarding something is all I'm good at."

"I bet Knuckles could use some help guarding the Master Emerald, seeing as how it's been stolen so many times."

"The Master Emerald? How do you know about the Master Emerald?" The echidna demanded.

_Oops._

"Just about everyone involved with Sonic knows." I told him._ Nice save!_

"And just how many people is that?"

"Let's see... There's Sonic, Tails, Amy, Eggman, me, and of course Knuckles, the current guardian. Oh, and there's also the CDA."

"CDA?"

"The Chaotix Detective Agency. It's made up of Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy the Bee. There used to be a fourth member, Mighty the Armadillo, but he quit a while ago to go exploring. He hasn't been seen since. So that makes... Ten people, although there could be more, I don't know."

_Actually, I do, but I can't let anyone know or it could change the story even more than it has been because of my presence here._

"We should probably meet back up with the others now. Can you send us back?"

He shook his head. "You're the one who controls the Chaos."

_Controls the Chaos? Could he be talking about Chaos Control?_

"So, I can teleport us to the others?"

"Yes. But first. take this." He handed me a small translucent crystal.

I could feel an incredible strength coming from it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"An old echidna legend tells about a hedgehog that was somehow able to fly. the legend also says that he had sealed away a great evil by taking his own life with the promise of returning one day when the world would once again be threatened by great evil. that crystal is all that remains to prove he ever existed."

"Thats a nice story, but it doesn't answer my question. What is it?"

"No one knows. It's purpose has been lost to us for centuries. Perhaps you will be the one to unravel it's mysteries?"

"Perhaps. But for now, let's get out of here."

I tucked the crystal into my glove and closed my eyes. The Chaos energy seemed stronger, more focused somehow.

I then put my left hand on the echina's shoulder, focused on our destination, took a deep breath, and shouted the two words I had long ago memorized.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

**I'm really on a roll today. I started and finished this chapter on the same day I posted chapter 4. This is also my longest chapter yet.**

**I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story goes! To quote Tails: I don't know what'll happen, but I do know this: we'll all find out TOGETHER! (Okay, so I might be paraphrasing)**

**And before anyone asks, the reason I was able to use Chaos Control without an Emerald was because the Chaos Emeralds had been in the pre-Perfect Chaos attack Mystic Ruins for so long, the whole area had absorbed some of their power, acting as a battery of sorts, or at least they do in my fic. **


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any other affiliated characters. They are owned by SEGA. Ashura and any other OC's are mine unless otherwise stated.

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 6**

You know that feeling you get when you're trying to build up a strong static charge in order to shock someone? That's what Chaos Control feels like, except multiplied by a thousand.

After a quick stop at Angel Island to drop off my new ally, I teleported back to the others.

When I reappeared, I was in a large, circular room made of stone, occupied by only by a red-colored echidna youth.

"Hey! Knuckles!" I yelled.

Knuckles turned around to face me and just stared past me, violet eyes wide with fear.

I sweatdropped nervously. "There's a giant ghost behind me, isn't there?"

_"Braaagh!"_ That was all the answer I needed.

I jumped to the side just in time to avoid a ball of blue flames that was thrown at me.

King Boom Boo. The giant ghost with a rainbow colored tongue was the most annoying boss in the entire Sonic series so far, in my opinion.

"Run!" I shouted to Knuckles.

"Where? There's nowhere to go!"

"Behind the pillar!"

"What pillar?"

_Oh, crap._

The room's central column, the only refuge from Boom Boo's attacks in the game, was missing. And there was no sign of the hourglass that opened the skylights either.

"Now what?" Knuckles asked as he dodged another fireball.

"Hang on, I'll try to think of something!"

_Please be there, please be there._

I looked at the ceiling.

_Yes!_

The stone blocks that cover the skylights were still there.

I pointed at one of the blocks. "Those panels! If we can open them, we can get out!"

"How? There aren't any switches or anything!"

Just then, King Boom Boo took a deep breath and spewed out a lot of ethereal fire at Knuckles, scoring a direct hit.

"Knuckles!"

"_Braagh?"_

Knuckles stood up and dusted himself off.

"I'm alright." He took out a half-melted gold ring. "The ring took the brunt of the flames."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Knuckles, do you have any spare rings? I haven't been able to find any."

"Sure." He pulled another ring out of his spines and threw it to me. "Catch."

"Thanks."

When I caught the ring, it glowed briefly, and was absorbed into the Ancient Bangles on my wrists. I instantly felt refreshed, all fatigue blown away by the protective aura that now surrounded me.

I turned to King Boom Boo and said to Knuckles, "Now let's teach this sorry sack of ectoplasm not to mess with us." Boom Boo sweatdropped.

I glanced at the Bangles.

_I think it's time to try these babies out._

I closed my eyes and focused, searching for the now familiar sensation that was the Chaos forces that hold the planet together.

_There!_

"CHAOS MAGNET!"

There was a loud crack, accompanied by a shower of dust and rubble as the stone panels covering the skylights were ripped off, being pulled towards me. They came to a halt, floating a couple feet above me.

I mimed throwing something at the rapidly shrinking King Boom Boo, and the panels flew at it, flattening it against the wall behind it.

"That won't hold him for long! Get'm Knux!"

"Right!"

Knuckles jumped high into the air, flared his spines, and quickly glided towards the panels trapping Boom Boo. He smashed through them and dug into the wall. When he re-emerged, he was dragging the ghost out by the tail (?). He then threw it towards me as I prepared the final blow.

Channeling all my strength into the blow, I stopped the ghost with a kick to the chest that surely would have shattered its ribs, if it had any. As the kick connected, the bottom of my shoe flared with a bright light, vaporizing the ghost.

"Impressive." Knuckles complemented, landing gracefully on the floor next to me. He looked me over. "Let's see... green fur, black stripes, and blue eyes. You must be Ashura."

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Sonic told me about you."

"Oh." Just then, a sudden wave of exhaustion hit me as my protective aura faded. The ring that Knuckles had given me then separated from the Ancient Bangles, hit the floor, and shattered, powerless.

"So tired..." I whispered as I slumped to the floor, and knew no more.

**When I said that the King Boom Boo battle was the most annoying ever, it's the truth. It's not hard or anything, it's just that he's really freaky. The sounds it makes, especially the one where it reverses direction when you get too close to its back shudders it creeps me out sometimes.**

**Moving on… This chapter includes the debut of my Chaos Magnet. I've had the idea for it in my head for a while now.**

**That's all I've got to say for now.**

**See ya'!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 7**

_"The servers are the seven Chaos._

_Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart._

_The Controller serves to unify the Chaos._

_The Elders strive to keep the balance of the unity."_

_"That's an interesting poem, Ash. Where'd you hear it?"_

'I must be dreaming...'

_"Oh! Hey Tetsu, I didn't see you come in. Some village girl taught it to me. What was her name again? Oh yeah! Tikal!"_

'Tikal? So these aren't just dreams after all.'

_"So what does it mean?"_

_Ash turned to the fox cub. "It tells about some very powerful relics. From what I can tell, the Servers are the seven Chaos Emeralds. I don't know about the rest."_

'What is going on here?'

_Tetsu's green eyes lit up with a sudden realization. "I think I know what the Controller is!"_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's the Master Emerald! That Tikal girl took me to an altar on the outskirts of the city. In the center there's a giant emerald. Tikal told me that it has the power to channel and focus the power of the Emeralds, or it can negate their power."_

_Ash looked at Tetsu inquisitively. "And you understood her?"_

'This'll be good.'

_"Not a word." Ash facefaulted._

_"Ahem... Well, anyway, we now know two parts of the riddle. Just the part about the Elders left."_

_"What about the 'power' part?"_

_"I think that's just saying how to use the Chaos Emeralds. Not important."_

_"Oh."_

What they said next was lost as I felt myself waking up. I mentally sighed. 'Just when it was getting good...'

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

I was jolted into the realm of consciousness by Amy'shammer colliding with my head.

"OW! Watch where you throw that thing!" I looked around and sweatdropped. "Why am I floating?"

"Re-activating artificial gravity. Prepare for docking." Tails answered for me.

I righted myself just in time to land on my feet.

"We're here!"

I gazed out the shuttle window in amazement.

"Ladies and Gentelmen, welcome to Space Colony ARK."


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are © SEGA. I only own myself, my avatar (Ashura), any OC's that show up, and this story; which is being written for entertainment purposes only. I am receiving nothing from this except a feeling of inner peace.

**A/N: My summer vacation is over, and I'm back at school. The reason that I haven't updated for so long is that I don't have internet access at home and I have no means of transferring files from computer to computer. That said, on with the story!**

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 8**

"Hey Tails. I wanna ask you something."

"What is it Ashura?" Tails replied.

We were walking through one of the ARK's many service tunnels. Of course, walking is a relative term. I was walking and Amy was riding with Tails in his mech.

"I was just wondering if you could help me fix something"

"What's that?"

"My shoes" Amy's ears twitched when I mentioned the word shoes.

"Your shoes? What's wrong with them?" she asked.

"I think some of the circuitry is fried."

Amy was about to say something else when Tails interrupted. "I'll take a look at them in a minute. According to my map there's a rest area just ahead."

We soon reached the place Tails mentioned. It was a large, round room filled with trees and fountains.

I whistled, impressed. "This place looks pretty well off, considering it's been shut down for 50 years."

"That's because the life support systems are designed to be self-sustaining. They constantly regulate the weather to keep oxygen and other gasses at their peak levels."

Tails and I both sweatdropped.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you knew that Amy" Tails said. "Anyway... Why don't we take a look at your shoes, Ashura?"

I sat down on a nearby bench and tried to take off one of my shoes.

"It's stuck! I can't get it off!"

"Try turning them off first." Amy suggested.

_Duh!_ I felt really stupid as I pressed the switch to deactivate my boots.

"Here ya go." I said as I handed Tails my shoes.

He looked them over for a few minutes, opening some small panels here and there.

"So?"

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with them. You probably just need a new power supply."

"Like what?"

"I'd suggest using a ring." said Tails, handing back my shoes.

"How do rings work anyway?" I wondered out loud.

"Rings work by channeling Chaos energy into the body of the person holding it. The energy enhances reaction speed and forms a protective barrier around the user. The Chaos energy can be used for other purposes as well."

"Such as?"

"It can be used to power machines, heal minor wounds, and when Sonic uses the power of fifty rings along with the seven Chaos Emeralds, the reaction transforms him into Super Sonic!"

By this time, I had put my shoes back on and was joining a ring with my left anklet.

Tails was watching me do this with great interest. "How do you do that? I've never seen anything like it!"

"I don't really understand it myself." I replied. "It happens automatically whenever a ring touches my Bangles, so I figured that the same thing would happen with my anklets. It's a much more convenient way of carrying my rings, and with a steady supply of ring energy nearby, the current power source in my shoes should be replenished."

I finished with my left anklet and started on my right. For some reason the joining process was taking longer than usual, and was requiring a lot of concentration.

"There we go!" I said as the ring was fully absorbed. I pressed the switch to re-activate my shoes. Almost instantly, I felt a tingling sensation and the bottom of my shoes flared with a golden light.

"Yes!"

I leapt to my feet and tried to stop, but my feet kept going and I fell flat on my back.

I tried to get back up, but I was stuck. My quills had dug into the floor, holding me down.

"A little help?" I asked.

Tails and Amy rushed to my side and pulled me up.

"Thanks."

"No problem. That happens to Sonic all the time."

I sweatdropped.

"Okay... Well, I'd better go practice using these. I'll meet up with you later!" I called back to them as I skated away.

**Another chapter finished, and my theory on rings explained. I apologize for all the shoe stuff, I just wanted to get that out of the way. I've made a few small changes to the previous chapters, so you might want to go back and re-read them so you're not confused.**


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 9**

"Whew! This is a lot harder than it looks in the game."

I had been practicing using my Dash Boots, as I called my shoes, for about half an hour while waiting for Eggman to capture Amy and use her for bait to trap Sonic.

I was in a large locker room where the researchers kept their personal objects while on duty.

I had taken a shower to get all the sweat and dirt from the activities of the past few hours out of my fur. I gazed into the mirror and got my first good look at my new self.

My fur was a bright green color, with vertical black stripes arms and legs. and a small tuft of white fur on my chest. There were stripes along the spines on my head, starting near my skin and continuing to the end of the spine. My quills were very long and stiff, except for one thin one that hung limply over my right eye.

But the most striking features of my new form were my eyes. They were a deep, piercing blue that seemed to look straight into your soul. You could lose yourself in those eyes. It was unnerving just looking at my reflection.

I was jolted from my trance by the sound of footsteps behind me.

"Who's There!"

_Busted..._

The owner of the voice came into view then. It was an ebony hedgehog, with crimson stripes on its spines, and white chest fur.

"Who are you!"

Our eyes met in the mirror and I smirked.

"Shadow the Hedgehog I presume?"

Shadow was startled by this.

"How do you know my name? And why do you look like me?" Shadow demanded.

I glanced at my refection and saw Shadow was right. I did look just like him. In fact, if it wasn't for the one quill and that I was an inch or two taller, I'd look just like a color swapped version of him.

I turned around to face him and closed my eyes.

"I know a lot about you, Shadow. As for who I am, no one of consequence." I replied.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

I shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. One minute I'm relaxing at home, the next I've been tossed in a crazy adventure to stop a madman from taking over the world."

"You mean the Doctor?"

I nodded. "Yep."

Shadow went into a fighting stance. "Then that means you're my enemy!"

Shadow leapt into the air and curled into a ball, using his Air Shoes to turn the spin into a Homing Attack.

As Shadow's spiked form neared, I focused on channeling energy into my shoes to activate the thrusters, and dashed under his attack, narrowly avoiding the lethal-looking spikes on his back. As it was, they grazed my shoulder, slicing through the skin like it was tissue paper.

I grabbed my shoulder, hissing at the pain the action caused, and spun to face Shadow, who was glaring at me like a cat who had just been given a bath. I pulled my hand away from my wound and glanced at it. My glove was covered in blood.

I glared at Shadow and clenched my fists. "You're gonna pay for that!" I told him through gritted teeth, my vision filling with a slight red mist as it usually does whenever I get mad. I launched myself at Shadow, using my Dash Boots to add extra power to my punch.

Shadow smirked, before gesturing towards me and shouting "CHAOS SPEAR!"

For a split second, I thought I saw something moving on the wall behind Shadow, until a large bolt of golden light shot at me, piercing through and negating the protective aura that my rings provided me with, and slicing into my chest with great force.

I fell to the floor, gasping for breath as everything went hazy.

I looked up and saw Shadow pull out a small radio and speak into it. "Doctor, I've captured one of the intruders. A green hedgehog."

The radio crackled as a reply came back. "Good job Shadow. Bring him to me at once."

"Of course, Doctor."

Shadow put away the radio and started to approach me. I groaned and laid my head on the floor as I succumbed to unconsciousness.

**A/N: Wow... That was a tough chapter to write. I nearly gave up on it.**

**Not much to say except that reviews are much appreciated. I'll have the next chapter written and uploaded as soon as possible.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 10**

The first thing I saw when I awoke was the barrel of a rather large and dangerous looking handgun pointed at my head.

_Great, just great..._

I quickly checked myself over. The cuts on my shoulder had been hastily bandaged, with a few bloodstains on the white material. The large puncture wound on my stomach from Shadow's Chaos Spear was gone, presumably repaired by Eggman and not my rings, otherwise my arm would have been healed as well.

I ran a mental ring check and found that, other than a few that had been expended to save me from the full strength of Shadow's attack, they were all intact.

"Whew..."

"Ah! You're awake! Good."

I looked at the source of the voice. It was an extremely fat man with a bald head and a large, bushy moustache who was sitting in a strangely egg-shaped mech.

"Let him go, Eggman!"

I tried to turn around and see who was talking, but I didn't have the energy to do more than tilt my head.

Eggman pointed his gun at the newcomer. "And why should I do that, Sonic?"

_Sonic!_

"Are you okay Ashura?" Sonic asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, other than the fact I'm being held hostage by Dr. needs-to-go-on-a-diet over here." Sonic snickered.

Eggman was about to retort, but was interrupted by a cry of "SONIC!"

"Amy? Tails? What are you doing here?"

"We came to help!" Tails answered.

I sweatdropped. "Hello, hedgehog in trouble here." I reminded them.

"Right, hang on Ashura, we'll save you!"

The trio of heroes advanced.

"Not so fast!" Eggman shouted. He pointed the gun back at me. "One wrong move and I'll blow his head off!"

"What do you want Eggman?" Sonic growled.

"Give me the Chaos Emerald and I'll let your little friend go."

_Little?_

Sonic took out the fake Emerald and was gazing at it, deep in thought.

"Put the Emerald over there and BACK OFF!"

Sonic grinned and started walking to the indicated spot. "You're turning into a big time villain, doctor."

Knowing what was coming; I gathered my strength and yelled "SONIC! IT'S A TRAP!"

"Too late!" Eggman shouted triumphantly as he pressed a button on his control panel. Immediately, a large plexiglass cylinder slammed into place above Sonic, trapping him inside.

"You thought you could fool me with that fake emerald?"

"How'd you know it wasn't the real one?"

"Because you just told me, fox-brat!"

"Tails!" Sonic shouted.

"Oops..."

Eggman grinned. "Now farewell Sonic, my worthy adversary!" He pressed another button and Sonic's tube sank into the floor and shot into space.

"SOOONNNNIIIICCC!"

Amy ran to the window and watched as the capsule flew towards the Earth and exploded.

"Sonic..." She started crying.

Just before the capsule detonated, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, a shadow on the ground that didn't belong to anyone. It had no definable shape, but it had two incredibly dark crimson spots that I assumed were eyes.

In the split second that it was there, I could tell that it was very angry. I blinked, and it was gone.

Tails was just sitting in the Tornado and staring off into the distance, his ears drooping.

He then turned his gaze towards Eggman and started growling. "How could you do that to Sonic?" He demanded. "You're going to pay for this!"

Tails turned the Tornado's cannon towards Eggman and fired an energy blast at him. Eggman quickly countered, firing a blast of his own.

The shots collided in midair, detonating and sending shrapnel and fragments of metal from the floor everywhere.

By luck or by divine intervention, every single one of the projectiles missed me, but Eggman wasn't so lucky.

His machine was badly scratched and covered in dents where pieces of metal had impacted, and he was bleeding from several places.

"'Is that the best you can do, Tails?" he taunted.

"Not at all!" Tails flipped a switch and a panel opened up behind him, revealing a missile launcher.

He didn't get a chance to fire however, as unbeknownst to us; Amy had snuck up behind Eggman and whacked him upside the head with her Piko-Piko Hammer. Eggman collapsed and slipped out of his mech and to the floor.

"Well, THAT was unexpected," I said, sweatdropping.

Tails held out the yellow Chaos Emerald in one hand and his radio in the other. "Sonic, we did it..." he said sadly.

The radio crackled to life. "Great job li'l buddy!"

"SONIC! You're okay!"

"Yup! Look outside." came the reply.

Tails jumped out of his mech, dropped the Emerald, and ran to the window, closely followed by Amy.

I, meanwhile, had pulled myself up into a sitting position facing the window. There was a large explosion outside, accompanied by a flash of blue. Sonic posed as he flew past the window. He grinned and gave us a thumbs up gesture.

Amy and Tails started cheering, but I held off on the celebrations for several reasons, first and foremost being that the fight wasn't over yet. We still had the Biolizard and Finalhazard fights to take care of. That, and I was still recovering my strength.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Eggman's hand slowly reaching for the Chaos Emerald that Tails had dropped. I considered stopping him, but then Shadow wouldn't remember Maria's true final wish and repent, so I let him go.

I sighed and closed my eyes, letting myself drift into a well needed sleep.

**A/N: I got flamed the other day. I'm so insulted that I might just stop writing altogether... sniff**

**Just kidding! I don't really mind flames as long as they're relatively polite. They let me know people are reading my story.**

**This part of the story is almost done, and I'll get to start on the sequel soon. The next story will be much easier to write because I won't have to follow a set plot.**

**Please review, but try to keep flames to a minimum if possible. But if you absolutely must, go ahead. I can always use a laugh.**

**Until next chapter, see ya!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 11**

I was woken up by a pair of gloved hands shaking my arm. it was Tails.

"Ashura! Something terrible has happened!"

"Dr. Gerald's final program has been activated, hasn't it. We're going to crash into the Earth."

Tails blinked. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

I sighed. "I'll explain later. Right now we've got to get to the core of the Eclipse Cannon. I'm gonna need some help, I don't have the strength to walk just yet." Almost as an afterthought, I added "Amy, you should wait here, just in case."

"Aww... I never get to have any fun..."

-------------------------------------

It had been about five minutes since Sonic had left to open the final security doors leading to the cannon's core.

I was riding behind Tails in the Tornado's vehicle mode, recovering my strength and thinking about all the dreams I'd been having. They had all been about Ash and Tetsu, all except the last one. the latest dream was strange, it was hard to describe. I let my mind drift back to it.

_It was dark and pouring rain. there were two figures standing facing each other in the middle of a field of white flowers. the figure on the right shouted something, but his voice was inaudible to me, drowned out by the rain. the other man laughed evily, his eyes glowing red. he said something I couldn't hear. He then drew a long sword from a sheath at his side, the scythe-like blade glinting in the sparse light._

_The Hero, as he was obviously the good guy, drew his own sword. it was a large broadsword with a chain design inlaid on the sides, starting at the hilt and ending at the tip, which he wielded in his right hand. A pair of pure white wings gave the illusion of radiating light burst from his back and he charged at the other man._

_The Demon, as I had come to think of him, chuckled as a pair of leathery, black wings that seemed to absorb all light in the area emerged from his back, before taking off and swooping down at the Hero._

_The two's swords clashed together with a spray of sparks. For a moment they seemed evenly matched, until Hero started losing ground. (or would it be considered losing air?) Demon laughed, and began his assult anew._

_Hero's sword went flying, and he was knocked out of the air. He hit the ground hard, his wings dissappearing feather by feather._

_Demon landed lightly in front of the prone Hero. he said something, laughed, and raised his sword to deliver the final blow. Hero opened his eyes just as the sword descended._

_There was a flash of lightning, and I woke up._

The exact features of Hero and Demon were obscured as Ash's were, and I had most certainly never seen either of the two, but I had a peculular sense of familiarity, as if I had known them in a previous life.

I was jerked back to reality by the sound of the doors opening and Sonic calling to us.

Tails started manuvering us through the door.

"Hang on Tails, I think i can walk from here." I said.

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I can handle it from here."

I jumped down from the Tornado, stumbling a little, but I recovered.

I glanced at Sonic and Knuckles, who both nodded at me, before turning to the door and clenching my fists.

"Let's go..."

**A/N: This story is drawing to a close, and a new one will soon begin. I'm really looking forward to writing the Finalhazard fight. In the meantime, why don't all of you check out the _Secrets of the Emeralds_ and its sequals by the very talented author JudasFM. They were a great inspiration for this story. You can find the links in my favorites. There's also a bunch of other great stories in there too.**

**Well, until next chapter, and don't forget to leave a review!**

**Shin-Ashura**


	13. Chapter 12

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 12**

The shrine at the core of the Eclipse Cannon looked almost exactly like it does in the game, except it had much higher detail and it was real, obviously.

Sonic and Knuckles were talking about what they needed to do. I, having heard the conversation dozens of times before on my Gamecube, wasn't paying attention. Instead, I was examining my gear, making sure it was all in working order, and carefully watching the pods hovering over the altar.

I had long since discarded the bandage on my arm, revealing a trio of thin scars running down my right shoulder to my elbow that would probably last the rest of my life.

I glanced up at Sonic. He and Knuckles were getting ready to approach the shrine. "Be careful. We're not alone." I warned.

As if on cue, the pods started to rotate and pulse with an inner light.

"Me and my big mouth..." I said, sighing.

There was a flash of light accompanied by a loud roar, and a giant lizard appeared out of nowhere. It was easily 50 feet long, with a deep pinkish-red coloring. There was a large metal platform on its back, with two long pipes coming out, leading to the creature's mouth. In the middle of the platform was a glass dome, covering a blob of some unknown pink material.

"What the heck is that?" shouted Sonic.

"That is the Biolizard. It was the prototype for the 'Ultimate Life' project started by Professor Gerald 50 years ago."

I glanced back over my shoulder at Shadow. "About time. I was starting to think you weren't gonna show."

Shadow looked confused. "How did you know I was coming?"

I smiled. "Like I said earlier, I'll explain everything later."

I stood back up. "Sonic, Knuckles, go stop the Emeralds. We'll take care of this thing."

"Right!"

"Right!"

"Let's rock!"

Shadow started things off with a homing attack on the Biolizard's head. As expected, the attack did no damage, but it had the desired effect: distracting the Biolizard from Sonic and Knuckles, who were running around the edge of the platform towards the shrines.

The Biolizard smacked Shadow away, causing him to drop his rings. It opened its mouth, gathering dark energy to fire it at Shadow.

I held my hand out to the side, the palm of my glove glowing as a ring made itself manifest. I didn't pause to think about this however, as I threw it to Shadow.

"Shadow! Catch!"

He caught the ring just in time as a orb of dark energy slammed against a golden shield that came into being mere milliseconds before impact. The ring in Shadow's hand lost its glow, turning grey and crumbling as its power was depleted.

The Biolizard took this as an opportunity to fire another orb, this time aiming at me. I dodged to the side, the energy ball missing and melting through a stone pillar behind me, leaving a semicircle of empty space in the granite. The Biolizard then started panting as if it had just run a marathon.

"Shadow, attack the dome! It might be a weak spot!"

"How? I can't jump that high!"

I could barely hear him over the noise the Biolizard was making.

"That pipe! Try grinding on the pipe coming from its mouth!"

Shadow did so, using a homing attack on the dome when he got close enough, cracking it slightly.

The Biolizard roared retaliated by summoning dozens of pink, scaly, egg-like objects that hovered in the air, glowing slightly before sending some towards the two of us that exploded after a few moments.

_My turn!_

_Activating my Hover Boots, I skated up next to the massive form that was the _ultimate life prototype, and mimicked Shadow's previous actions.

I used a series of homing attacks on the eggs to get above the Biolizard, and used one final homing attack on its life support system, using my shoes for extra power. The dome cracked even more, a few small pieces of glass falling in. A pulse of energy blasted me back, and I landed unharmed, back on the floor.

"Shadow, I've got an idea! I'll need your help though."

Shadow dodged a swipe of the Biolizard's claws. "What do you need me to do?"

"When I count to three, use your Chaos Spear on this thing!" I shouted.

"Sure."

I thought back to Prison Island and how I broke out. I tried to replicate what I did back then, channeling some ring energy into my right bracelet, which promptly started glowing.

"One..."

Golden fire erupted from my bangle, flowing into my palm where it quickly formed a large ball.

"Two..."

I brought my arm up, pointing it up at the Biolizard, bracing it with my left.

"THREE!"

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

"HEAVEN'S LIGHT!"

A giant beam of rainbow light erupted from my palm. The recoil from the beam was so intense that I could've sworn that my arm was going to be ripped off!

The two attacks hit home, shattering the protective dome and ripping off a large section of skin from its back. The Biolizard shrieked in pain and promptly collapsed.

I slumped against a pillar, exhausted. Checking my rings, I was shocked to discover that nearly half had been used up in that one attack!

I got back to my feet and started walking up the altar steps. When I reached the top, Knuckles had already placed the Master Emerald in the center and was preparing to say the chant. I couldn't help but think of the version Ash had said in my dream earlier.

"The servers are the seven Chaos."

_"The servers are the seven Chaos."_

"Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart."

_"Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart."_

"The controller serves to unify the Chaos."

_"The controller serves to unify the Chaos."_

"Only you can do this! Stop the Chaos Emeralds!"

_"The Elders strive to keep the balance of this unity."_

The Master Emerald started spinning rapidly. There was a bright flash of light from behind us as the Biolizard disappeared.

"Was that Chaos Control?" Shadow wondered.

The Master Emerald stopped spinning abruptly, and the ARK shook.

"Did it work?" asked Sonic.

There was a burst of static, and Tails' voice came over the radio. "Sonic! Something terrible has happened!"

Eggman's voice cut in. "The Prototype is still alive, and has fused with the station. It's determined to keep it on its collision course."

Sonic looked at Shadow. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Shadow nodded.

"Let's do this."

**A/N: Just one more chapter to go until the finale. I'm planning something big for my next story.**

**Until next chapter,**

**Shin-Ashura**


	14. Chapter 13

**Reality Shock**

**Chapter 13**

"Let's do this."

Sonic and Shadow were surrounded by a white aura as the seven Chaos Emeralds were ripped from their places, coming to a halt in a circle around them.

The Emeralds started rotating around Sonic and Shadow, as their aura grew brighter. The Emeralds spun faster and faster, as the pair started glowing.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Sonic and Shadow had disappeared. In their place was a pair of glowing, floating hedgehogs. The one on the left was silver, with red eyes and stripes on its spines. The other one was gold, and also had red eyes.

Super Sonic and Super/Hyper Shadow had arrived. (I personally prefer Hyper Shadow, because his normal form was supposedly based on the super form of an ancient hedgehog, but I'll use super for the sake of avoiding an argument.)

They nodded to each other and, in perfect synchronization, shouted "CHAOS CONTROL!" and warped outside the station.

_I wish there was something I could do to help them..._

I sighed, and walked over to Knuckles, who was standing next to the Master Emerald. "So now what?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "Why are you asking me?"

"The Master Emerald tells me you know more than you're telling."

"It can talk?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.

Knuckles shook his head. "It doesn't actually _talk_, it's more like it broadcasts it's emotions to me, and I can tell what it's trying to say from that."

"Can I try?" I asked.

He nodded. "Sure. It's pretty simple actually. All you need to do is touch it"

"Okay, here goes..." I knelt down, closed my eyes, and placed my hand on the side of the M.E.

_"So. You have finally returned, Ashura."_

I opened my eyes and looked at Knuckles. "Did you say something?" He shook his head. I shrugged, and closed my eyes again.

_"You are the one destined to bring balance to the multiverse."_ In my mind's eye, I could see a large room with walls of emerald. In the center of the room was a plain stone alter. I felt a pulling sensation as my consciousness entered to this room

_Multiverse?_

_"The collection of worlds and dimensions that make up existence."_

_Did that voice just read my mind?_

_"In this place, thoughts and ideas are all that exist. Communication is achieved by telepathy."_

_I see... So who are you?_

_"I am the Controller, or as you call me, the Master Emerald."_

_Why am I here?_

_"I brought you here because I have something for you."_

_What is it?_

_"Proceed to the altar, and take what you find."_

I walked up to it, finding it took a lot of concentration to move in this place. On top of the altar was a perfectly smooth orb, the same color as my fur. I picked it up and it was absorbed into my hands.

_Now what?_

_"You can now perform the same feat the other two of your kind just did."_

_You mean I can go super?_

_"Yes. But your transformation is different. You can change regardless of rings and whether or not you have the Chaos Emeralds."_

_Alright! I'm invincible!_

The M.E. chuckled, or at least it sounded like a chuckle.

_"Not quite. While you don't have the same requirements as the others, there are limitations."_

_Such as?_

_"The transformation only lasts for a few minutes, and you can only bring it on in a time of great peril."_

_Okay, but I can still use the other method right?_

_"Yes, but the Emeralds have been growing harder to restrain as of late. You would do best to avoid using them until I can correct this. You should go back now."_

_But-_

_"Don't worry, time in this realm moves faster than the material world. Only a few seconds have passed in reality. Now go!"_

_Thank you for your help._

I felt myself be reconnected with my body. I opened my eyes and stood up.

"So did you feel anything?" Asked Knuckles.

I considered telling him the truth, but I figured he wouldn't understand. "Nope, Nothing." I lied. _I'm sure this qualifies as perilous enough._

I focused hard, looking deep inside for my new ability. I soon found it, and activated it. Almost immediately, I felt an immense power flowing through my veins. The power erupted outwards, strengthening and protecting my body and turning my fur a deep shiny emerald. "I'm going to go help Sonic!" I said, my voice echoing slightly.

_Time to see what I can do._

I drew a small amount of energy from the Master Emerald and shouted "CHAOS CONTROL!"

-----------------------

When I emerged from the void, I was in space outside the ARK. It was there that I got my first glimpse of the Finalhazard. The Finalhazard looked just like the Biolizard, except one of its front legs was missing and its tail was merged with the barrel of the Eclipse Cannon.

Sonic was charging fist first into the Finalhazard's head, and Shadow was peppering it with rapid-fire Chaos Spears. None of them had noticed me yet, so I decided to get in a sneak attack.

I started the motions for Heaven's Light, but instead of firing the beam, I formed another ball in my left hand. I held both my hands in front of me, touching the surfaces of the orbs together. They rapidly combined into one large ball, turning red in the process.

"HOLY BARRAGE!"

I pulled my hands back to my sides and thrust them forward at the ball. Instead of shooting forward, it shattered into thousands of shards which flashed briefly before flying off and homing in on the Finalhazard. The shards exploded on impact, doing surprisingly little damage for the size of the explosions. The Finalhazard roared in anger.

"What was that?" came Sonic's voice.

I used my boots to fly over towards Sonic. "Don't worry! Your backup is here!"

"Ashura? What're you doing here?"

"No time! Aim for the red swelling area. That's its weak point."

Sonic didn't reply. He was too busy avoiding a laser beam aimed at him. He flew at a swollen spot and when he was within striking distance, he dashed into it with enough speed to create after-images. The Finalhazard roared again, this time in pain.

The swelling collapsed back into the Finalhazard's body, only to reappear in another spot on the other side. Shadow fired a Chaos Spear into that one.

The swelling reappeared on the Finalhazard's head. "I got it!" I yelled. I flew straight at the Finalhazard's head, tackling the bump as hard as I could. It receded, and I was knocked away by a laser blast.

"Is it getting hot out here, or is it just me?" I looked down at the Earth and saw that we were beginning to enter its atmosphere!

I heard a loud roar from behind me followed by a series of explosions. It seemed that while my back had been turned, Sonic and Shadow had teamed up and struck the final blow. By now, we were going at high speed through the planet's atmosphere, and the Finalhazard's corpse was being incinerated by the intense heat.

Sonic and Shadow flew at the ARK and Chaos Controlled it back into orbit.

Shadow then started falling.

"Shadow!"

_Now's my chance to change something for the better!_

I propelled myself towards Shadow, intending to catch him and bring him back onto the station. Before I was able to reach him, I felt my power weaken.

"Not now!"

I put on a burst of speed and was able to catch up with Shadow. I heard him mutter the name Maria as I grabbed his wrist. I channeled as much of the energy of my rapidly diminishing Super form into one final attack. If this didn't work, we'd be hedgehog pancakes for sure.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

**A/N: This was the last chapter before the finale. If you want to find out what happens, be sure to read it! Sorry for the cliffhanger. I just wanted to build up the suspense.**

**'Til next chapter!**


	15. Epilogue

**Reality Shock**

**Epilogue**

It's been a month and a half since the ARK incident, and two weeks since I was found washed up on Emerald Coast, or at least that's what the doctors say. They also said that I was physically exhausted and extremely dehydrated, kinda ironic since I was thought to have been floating around in the ocean for a month.

I yawned and stretched out on my bed. I'd only been awake for a few days, and I was already getting stir crazy. A strange feeling for someone who used to be able to happily spend weeks in the same building. "Now I know how Sonic feels..." I grumbled. I felt like I was about to explode from the excess energy. Before I could continue my rant, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and in came Sonic, Amy, and Tails.

"Hey guys."

"We got the call you woke up a few days ago. We would've come sooner, but they wouldn't let us. We've been worried."

Sonic sat down in the chair next my bed.

"So how've you been doin' Ashura?"

I shrugged. "Can't complain. I wish they'd let me out though." I glanced around the room. "Say... Where's Knuckles?"

This time Tails answered. "He would've come, but he was having a disagreement with another echidna over something."

Amy then asked the question that I'm sure everyone wanted to know. "So how'd you survive the fall?"

I cleared my throat. "Well..."

FLASHBACK 

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

We entered a tunnel made entirely of a multi colored light.

We had been in the tunnel for what seemed like an eternity, when it had only been a few seconds. We emerged from it at least twenty feet above the ground. "I guess my aim was a little off..."

_"No duh."_

_"Shut up, Sonic. Do you want me to continue the story or not?"_

_"Sorry..."_

I turned around so that Shadow would land on top of me. I closed my eyes just before I hit the ground and knew no more.

END FLASHBACK 

"And when I woke up, he had disappeared and left behind this." The green Chaos Emerald appeared in my hand. I set it on my bedside table and continued with my tale.

"I had landed on an island in the middle of the ocean. I spent the next few days exploring the area and looking for Shadow. Shadow was nowhere to be found, and there wasn't any food or fresh water. I fell asleep on the beach and when I woke up, I was here."

I folded my hands, signifying that my story was done. "Any questions?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, I got one. Why-"

"Don't you even think about finishing that sentence." warned Amy, her mallet raised threateningly.

Sonic and Tails sweatdropped while I laughed. "It's okay, Amy. I know what it sounds like, and I assure you, things aren't like that. I saved him because he still has important things he needs to do."

"_Sure_..."

"Amy, if you would?"

"Gladly."

There was a loud yelp of pain as Amy whacked Sonic on the head with her mallet.

A nurse entered the room and checked my chart. "Well Mr. Ashura," she said, "it says here that you can go home today."

"Finally! I'm free!"

"You can go home!"

"Alright, Ashura!"

"Good for you!"

The nurse smiled and quietly left the room.

As I was getting out of bed, something occurred to me.

"Umm, guys... I don't have anywhere to stay..."

Everyone else facefaulted and I laughed. This was definitely turning out to be a good day.

_THE END_

**A/N: This is the end of my first fanfic, but don't worry. I'll have the sequel written and posted soon. Here's a small preview of what's to come.**

_An uncertain past. A broken seal. A quest for self-discovery. A hero shrouded in mystery. A great evil, longing for revenge. Something lost recovered. All these and more await._

**Wish me luck on the next story, and don't forget to review!**

**Shin-Ashura**


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